A local’s cocaine trip
Photo: RCMP
Hundreds of kilograms of cocaine found on a sailboat manned by a Kelowna man off the coast of Nova Scotia
A Kelowna man ended up in hot water across the country after allegedly being caught with hundreds of kilograms of cocaine.
Aleck Villeneuve, 28, from Kelowna is believed to have been one of two men in a sailboat that was stopped by the Coast Guard off Nova Scotia on August 29.
When officers approached the boat to intercept it, smoke was observed and the fire quickly spread throughout the boat, according to the RCMP.
The occupants of the sailboat were arrested and officers boarding the sailboat to control the fire noticed packages that appeared to be made of cocaine stones floating in the cabin.
Investigators confiscated 552 kilograms of cocaine. In addition to the arrest of Villeneuve, a 32-year-old Antigua resident, Karin Marley Simons, was also arrested.
Both men are charged with conspiracy to import narcotics. Villeneuve faces additional charges of importing and possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. Simons is wanted by the police after escaping the hospital while being nursed.
Villeneuve was critically injured in a fatal explosion in a house in West Kelowna in 2018. The house was believed to have been used to illegally make “shatter” – a type of cannabis concentrate that resembles honey or toffee. When smoked, it can produce a stronger high than marijuana buds.
